Dec 29, 2010
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 29, 2010 | 8 comments
Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father. I know, it’s usually a morning correspondence but everything kept redirecting me this morning and until now, I didn’t know why. I had a topic of conversation planned for today, but due to discussions with two different friends in the last few minutes, I need to shift my thoughts and prayers to their needs.
Dear Lord, please send Your Healing power to those of whom I speak. Please let them feel Your Loving Arms around them, and the comfort of Your Presence. Nourish and care for their troubled bodies, and lift their spirits that they may know Your Infinite Love is with them.
Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dec 28, 2010
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 28, 2010 | 10 comments
Dear Lord; You know Father, I think that sometimes You like to catch me off guard when You speak to me. Most notably in the last couple of months, I’ve received Your Guidance in some of what I consider odd ways and places. I’m guessing that some of it is that I’ve been working diligently to make myself more open to Your Presence in all parts of my life, but either way You’ve once again made Your imprint on me…
…But while I was cleaning snow off the driveway?
As You know already, we got hit with an intense little snowstorm on Sunday, complete with 40+ mph winds which made some lovely drifts to cover us up. While I tried to wait until the winds had died down to clear the driveway, when I went out Monday afternoon with the snow-thrower there were still some pretty significant gusts making things more difficult. As the wind was blowing across the driveway, one side was easy enough to do but when I started to try to throw the snow up on the other side, I was of course greeted with a face full as it blew right back at me and recoated the pavement. I made some progress working between the gusts as best I could, but it seemed to be an uphill battle.
“Don’t fight the wind.” You said to me quietly.
I was a little taken aback, as I really hadn’t expected You to get involved in something as mundane as clearing snow off my driveway but I stopped for a minute and rethought it all the same. It seemed like it was way too far for my little snow-thrower to heave the covering to the other side of the driveway, but I turned the thrower around and gave it a shot anyways. Funny enough, the wind gave me the extra lift I needed and the piles of white soon moved aside.
After finishing up and sitting inside contemplating what had happened, it dawned on me that my experience was very much a metaphor for our relationship with You. We struggle each day with all the earthly worries, fears and activities that seem to consume our lives, yet when we’re able to open our hearts and minds to Your Voice, our burdens become Yours and Your Will is done. Intentionally or not, we “fight the wind” way too much, and I appreciate You reminding me of that. Amen.
~Phather Phil
Dec 27, 2010
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 27, 2010 | 6 comments
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! Well, we’ve certainly started the week off with a blustery and snowy morning. Here in middle Delaware at least, the snow came down all day yesterday and into the evening, leaving a cleansing white coating on the ground. While it’s a travel impediment, I’ve always loved the way snow seems to purify everything and leaves the Earth feeling new, although I’m sure I’ll be a lot less enthralled clearing the driveway later on today when the wind settles down :-). Either way, I pray that all those forced to venture out into these conditions will feel You by their side, and get to their destinations safely.
I also wanted to thank You for a lovely Christmas weekend Father. From the wonderful Children’s Christmas Eve Service at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Friday night, to the time spent with my loving family on Christmas Day it was a joyous time and will inspire happy memories for quite some time to come. We are indeed Blessed, and I thank You from the bottom of my heart.
Searching for inspiration on this wintery Monday morning Lord, I came across a prayer that just hit home with me and therefore I’d like to finish our chat with it. It’s called “The Prayer of Saint Francis” and reads :
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.”
~Phather Phil
Dec 24, 2010
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 24, 2010 | 3 comments
Dear Lord; Merry Christmas Eve Father! This morning, following the “tradition” I started on Thanksgiving this year, I’m going to let two of my biggest Blessings (my sons Jonathan and Aidan) compose the email to you. I battled with what questions to give them to work from this morning, but couldn’t decide between two; “What does Christmas mean to you?” and “What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?”. Therefore, I thought we’d do both! 🙂
Jonathan (Age 11)
What does Christmas mean to you? :
“Christmas means to me that it’s time for Joy, Peace and Happiness. It’s also the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus.”
What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:
“God has blessed me with many things; my family, my friends, shelter and food. I have fun, and things to do. God has helped me stay healthy after I was really sick. Thank you God!”
Aidan (Age 8)
What does Christmas mean to you?:
“Christmas means celebrating Jesus’ Birthday. You get to be with your family. You get time off school. You get to spend time with your friends. You get decorate the house.”
What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:
“I want to thank God for money, health, food, shelter, my family, my brother, something to do, our pets, and for my life.”
Father, on this Eve of Celebration of Your Son’s Divine Birth I want to thank You myself as well. You gave Your Only Son to us to inspire us, teach us, set a Holy Path for us to follow, and then to die for our Eternal Salvation. I can’t imagine a more amazing Gift, and I’m truly humbled by Your Love for us. Please reach out Father, to those struggling to find the Peace Christ brought to us all and let them feel Your Loving Arms around them.
May we all take time during the next couple of days to stop, let our earthly stresses go, and focus on the Wondrous Gift Our Lord has given to us. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!
Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dec 23, 2010
Posted by PhatherPhil on Dec 23, 2010 | 6 comments
Dear Lord; First off Father, I want to follow up on our conversation yesterday. Last evening, I went to the local mall to pick up a couple of odds-and-ends. I was pleasantly surprised to see a significantly better perspective from the shoppers and vendors. I got smiles, Lord… Lots of them. And when I wished people there a Merry and Blessed Christmas, I got happy faces and well-wishes in return. Thank You for allowing me to witness those signs of Your Joy. It helped my spirits immensely.
Today Lord, my heart is already yearning towards the next couple of days. Work still holds many stresses for me, money is still extremely short and Shannon and I are still recovering from the bug that hit us last weekend, but the Light of the Blessed Event to come is overwhelming all of that. I’m very much looking forward to spending quite a bit of “quality time” with You over the next couple of days, and helping spread the Love and Hope the Birth of Your Son brought to us all. Please help me be an effective emissary of Your Word, and to bring Christ’s Message to as many others as possible.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Amen. ~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
